Rag Doll Fall Dress

I have a shopping bag of Knit Picks Palette yarn that I bought years ago when I was originally making Barbie clothes for my nieces and then when I stopped I'd occasionally use some for a project but I still have a bag that I'd like to finish off and start fresh knowing I'm using up yarn as I buy it.

Having adapted Amy Carrico's 14 inch Baby Doll Spring Set for the 15 inch Rag doll I was looking for the right yarn to adapt the pattern for use for with the smaller Rag doll. I setteled on this yarn because I had 2 skeins which is always a good idea when you aren't sure how much yarn a pattern would take and it is a yarn I've had trouble finding a project to move it out of my stash. I believe this is one of the heather yarns in the Palette line and I think it was oringally purchased for Barbie office wear. However since that never got done its been holding up in long term stash storage and it was time for a new project idea.

I had used a fingering acrylic yarn for the 15 inch doll and it worked really well for the project. I decided the Palette yarn might do for the smaller doll and since this color has been on my radar to move out it was one of the first I checked to see if I had 2 skeins to meet my project requirements. I've been know to lose the will the yarn last game and I prefer not to when the option is there.

Amy Carrico's pattern is available for purchase here.

Notes:

This one worked up slightly differently than the 15 inch doll so I wanted to make sure I included my notes for any future proejcts.

First if using Palette yarn I need 2 skeins to complete outfit with panties. Can complete dress and sweater with one but not enough for complete outfit.

Hook sizes:

Dress E hook

Sweater body G hook fits better over bulk of dress. C hook for arms.

Panties G hook to 32 stitches.

Rag Doll Dress for February

This is a Dora the Explorer free doll pattern that I've adapted in the past for the JC Toys - La Baby 16-inch Baby Doll and I decided to see if it would work for the Rag Dolls. You can find the free pattern here.

I started the project with sport yarn but I quickly realized the dolls would require worsted weight yarn and the suggested I hook size to make the dress fit. I chose to join the dress earlier than suggested while still in the red rounds and I used a snap rather than buttons to close the outfit.

In order to make the arm holes fit I required a chain 8 rather than a chain 4. Skipping 10 chains still worked to make the dress fit, thus not changing the stitch count.

I plan on making a second dress in different colors for the other rag doll and following the adaptation directions to make this outfit for the 16 inch baby dolls as well. It's a quick way to add additional outfits to the doll wardrobes.

Rag Doll Dress

I made a promise to myself that I'd get back to the dolls I'd neglected and try to get them more outfits made before the deadline. With some dolls that presents more of a challenge than others as I don't have specific patterns designed for them. As I was working on the free Linmary baby doll pattern found here it occured to me the dress portion of the pattern might work for the at least one of the rag dolls. I'd need to work adjust fiber and hook size but it was worth a try.

I started with Knit Picks Palette yarn from my stash and a D hook. That hook size was too small to fit around either doll so I increased to an e hook and after reaching the arm hole determined that this dress fit both dolls but was a better fit for the 13 3/4" CR Craft Doll rather than the 15" Factory Direct Rag Doll. I'm trying this pattern again for the 15" doll with different yarn and a different hook to see if I can get a better fit for the larger doll.

I stayed with the original chain length. I stuck with the top pattern until I reached the dolls waist at which point I switched to the skirt pattern. I then proceeded with that pattern until I reached the desired length. While I alternated color for the top and added the trim for the top of the dress I chose not to trim the arms or add the contrasting color to the bottom as I had done with the baby doll dresses. I liked the way the blue stood out alone. However, the top was the starting chain and it did need to be trimmed to finish the outfit. I chose to do that with the contrasting color as suggested by the pattern.

Rag Doll Autumn Lace Dress

I've updated my crochet thread hooks with the idea of taking on some doll thread projects this year. I'd lost some of my Bates Bamboo Steelite hooks which sadly have been retired. I've been filling in my lost thread sizes with Tulip Etimo and Armour hooks.

I went to ABC Knitting, the home of most of my doll thread crochet projects, looking for a project to test my new hooks and settled on the Wellie Wishers Doll Autumn Lace Dress free pattern you can find here.

I've never actullay seen a Wellie Wishers doll but from what I read I was hoping the doll would be close enough to adapt the clothing to the smaller 13 3/4" rag doll. The pattern calls for Aunty Lydia's size #10 Crochet Thread and a 1.5mm hook. I did the swatch for guage at the beginning and I was fine. My testing point for fit for a shirt or dress is usually the arm holes. By that point you get a good feel for the fit of the outfit. Using this hook the outfit didn't even fit the 8" baby doll. By the time I reached a 2mm thread hook the stitches were far too loose. I needed to change fiber.

I decided to try Bernat Baby yarn and for the ombre I used an old house brand sport yarn from AC Moore which sadly is no longer available. I started with a D hook and found again the dress too small for the doll but much closer. The E hook proved a good match. I did add a row of dc in purple around the arm holes as they lacked a finished look without them. I did not need the full number of rows to complete the dress as I was using different yarn. The pattern also does not indicate when to switch colors. You will need to decide where to do that yourself.

Rag Doll Top and Shorts

A friend of mine has sent me Rag dolls a few times for the donation project and I wanted to try adding one this year. I ordered 2 from CR Crafts only to find these are slightly smaller than the ones she gets from Factory Direct Craft.

I've ordered the larger ones from Factory Direct as I have some patterns that I think will fit the larger dolls better, but I am determined to outfit this doll for the donation as well. It's not like I don't send multiple sized baby dolls. Why not rag dolls?

As for the outfit for this doll, with the exception of the afghan collection, which I sadly missed out on, every time Annie's has issued a DVD Rom collection of crochet patterns I've tried to purchase them. I did miss the afghan one sadly but I did get both volumes of the Crochet World collection and the Dolls, Doll Clothes and Acessories DVD Rom. I find myself revisiting these DVD's from time to time when I am trying new things and want to see what I might not have tried before. With the addition of new dolls it seemed like it was time to see what the DVD had to offer for doll patterns I might be able to use with the new dolls.

One of the pattern sets that is included on the DVD is Needlecrafts Shop's Sweet Cuddles 971016 leaflet. This is a pattern for a soft bodied 15" baby doll as well as a wide range of clothing for the doll. I thought I had seen this offered on one of Annie's pattern sites but it was not available when I searched prior to posting this blog. If it returns I'll try to post a link.

This sweater was designed as a cardigan but do to the difference in shape and size of the dolls it fit better as a shirt. I moved from baby weight to Red Heart striped yarn and an H hook. in the future I would use an H for the first few rows of the top and switch to a g hook for the remainder of the outfit as it gets big quickly. I sewed the underarms a little more closed as it billowed out a bit more than I thought was needed.

I had intended to make the overalls pattern for this outfit but the sweater was too bulky. Shorts seemed a better alternative. I will likely revisit overalls at some point

The shorts were made by crocheting over a hair elastic and then alternating between hdc and dc rows until I had 4 rows. I chained 4 and split the legs evenly. I then crocheted for another two rows on each leg to complete the shorts.